Abstract

Aim: Research on co-morbid health conditions experienced by people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is underdeveloped. This study aimed to systematically review existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses in order to identify evidence on the physical and mental health needs of people with ASD. Method: A literature search was conducted through PsycINFO, Scopus, CINAHL, Medline, and Cochrane databases an was limited to systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2005 and 2015. The following search terms were used: ‘autis*’ OR ‘pervasive developmental disorder’ OR ‘Asperger*’ OR ‘ASD’. Results: Out of 3,035 results, 243 articles were identiﬁed as potentially relevant and chosen for further review; 20 articles met the inclusion criteria. These focussed on mental health conditions (n=8), physical and genetic conditions (n=7),epilepsy (n=3), gender differences in health needs (n=1)and health problems in aging populations (n=1).Conclusions: Individuals with ASD experience a variety of co-morbid health problems, and frequently more than one condition co-occurs with autism. Whilst evidence exists regarding prevalence of co-morbidities, signiﬁcant heterogeneity of studies and inconsistent reporting impact on the quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in this ﬁeld.